Tie plate



1936, F. J. WERNER ET AL 2,056,632

TIE PLATE ,Filed Aug. 20, 1931 2 Sheets$h aet 1 Fifl Z 5 Win12 23 so O20 I 28 35 2 l ia, w 22 24 4 1m /fi 7i .5 JM Inventors I W 9% M By254M422? A itorney Gd, 6, 1936. J, WERNER E AL 2,056,632

TIE PLATE Filed Aug. 20, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FEW-2.2

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Patented Oct. 6, 1936 PATENT OFFICE TIE PLATE Frank J. Werner andGilbert H. Werner, Portage Township, Hobart, Porter County, Ind.

Application August 20, 1931, Serial No. 558,296

7 Claims. (Cl. 238-304) Our invention relates to improvements in tieplates for railways and it more especially consists of the featurespointed out in the annexed claims.

The purpose of our invention is to provide a type of tie'plate that isformed from a single sheet of steel by a punching operation retainingits full effective cross section; that is not weakened through thedisplacement of metal by the punching operation; that is adaptable tothe variations in width of base of all standard railroad. rails; thateffectually looks the rail to the plate; that when once it is adjustedto a given rail width and the bolts are drawn tight onto the pair ofcantilever clips the entire assembly cannot be loosened through thevibrations of the heaviest and most continuous train traffic; thatwithin the usual mill tolerance securely and definitely supports thebase of the rail, at its edges, and at the same time on the top of therail base flanges; that secures the plate to the ties by means of screwspikes which cannot be lifted by alternate depressions of the rail asthe wheels of trains pass over it; that by reason of the high carbonsteel which we are able to, use there is practically no wear on the tieplate beneath the rail; and that by usinga punch press product, we avoidthe risk of breakage present in cast iron and we also avoid expensivemachining operations that have been employed heretofore.

With these and other ends in View we illustrate on the accompanyingdrawings such instances of adaptation as will show the broad underlyingfeatures of the invention without limiting ourselves "to the specificdetails shown thereon and described herein.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a tie plate with the fastening elementsremoved;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation in section of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top planview of an assembled tie plate.

Fig. 4 is an elevation in section of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detached elevation in section on line 5 -5 of Fig. 1.

' Fig. 6- is a right end elevation of Fig. 2. I

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of a modified boss.

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of a square clamping clip.

Fig. 9 is a top plan view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the clampingclip adjusted to a narrow rail base.

Fig. 10'isa bottom plan of a hexagonal clamping clip.

Fig. 11 is a'bottom plan of a rectangular clamping clip.

Fig. 12 is a bottomplan of an octagonal clamping clip.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged side elevation of Fig. 10.

Fig. l l is a detached top plan view partly in sec- "tion of thefastening bolt being assembled,

Fig. 15 is a top plan view similarto Fig. 14 showing the head of thefastening bolt assembled in its recess on the undersideof the tie platebeneath the clip boss.

Figure 16 is a top plan view of a modified form of a portion of the tieplate.

In manufacturing and marketing our tie plate we may employ whateveralternatives and equivalents of structure that the exigencies of varyingconditions may demand without departing from the broad spirit of theinvention.

Tie plates of one form or another have been in use for many years. Intheir simplest form they simply comprised a flat plate provided with apair of holes along each edge of the rail base through which spikes weredriven into the wooden tie beneath. Such plates only provided anincreased bearing surface over that of the rail base but they do not inany way serve to positively hold the rail onto the plate. Many variantsof such plates have been proposed but these have involved too much costand difficulty in manufacture. These difierent designs have comprisedrail anchors, rail creepers, anchor plates, etc.

Tie plates have also been made with cross-wise ribs on the bottom so asto be imbedded in the top surface of the wooden ties. This form of plateis ineffective and expensive because special rolls must be made to rollthem. Every change in shape and number of ribs requires a differentset-up of rolls. Other attempts have been made to form tie plates withchannels on the top surface to fit the base of the rail close enough toeliminate any sidewise movement. The efforts in this direction have beendirected to the use of castings with lugs on each side of the channel,or heavy ribs have been rolled on the top side of the plate to form achannel in which the base of the rail is seated.

None of these attempts to find a solution of the problem have provenvery satisfactory because there is no exact uniformity in the widths ofrail bases, even though they are rolled to the same weight per yard. Thereason this variation oc ours is due to the fact that in the manufactureof rails there is usually allowed a tolerance of inch at each edge ofthe rail base which makes a total variation of inch. Under theseconditions a new rail, under the most ideal conditions of carefullyformed channels and ribs, will be inch loose. Eighty pound rails A. S.C. E. standard vary in base width from 4-1-5 inch to 5 inch. To meetthese conditions as many different forms of tie plates must be providedas there are different widths of rail bases corresponding to differentsizes of railsa costly procedure.

Even the simple form of tie plate formed with a single ledge on its topface with holes punched in such relation to the ledge as to force thewidest rail base against it when a spike is driven into the tie throughthe hole is impracticable. If used with a narrower rail the spike willbe loose on the same tie plate.

A most vital objection exists in respect of ordinary tie. plates havingholes for driven spikes because such plates are only about 75%effioient. In other words to of the cross section is punched out informing the holes. that such plates must be made thicker all over tocompensate for the material removed by the punchings. I

It is well known among manufacturers-of tie plates that the expedientsabove referred to leave the problem largely unsolved. This condition isemphasized when it is recalled that at the present time Americanrailways are using over 2000 different kinds of tie plates and in theperiod 1910 to 1930 more than 2000 other styles were actually tried anddiscarded because of inherent defects of one kind or another.

We have solved the problem by producing a tie plate and associatedfastenings which is universally adaptable to variations in rail basewidth and which in' addition will securely clamp the rail againstvertical and sidewise movement eilec tively without having any lateralshift due to the manufacturers tolerance of an A; inch. Thiseffectiveness insures mechanical efficiency and economy which has beenunattainable hitherto.

In manufacturing and marketing tie plates we may use whateveralternatives or equivalents of structure that the varying conditions ofactual use may demand without departing from the broad spirit of theinvention.

It will also be understood that our tie plate can i be used on steelties by means of bolts or rivets in place of screw spikes. It can alsobe used on concrete ties by suitable fastenings in place of screwspikes.

As instanced in the drawings a tie plate I is shown with a canted upperface 2. This form is not however necessary in practicing our inventionbecause there are many railways that only use uncanted plates. Theplates I have holes 3 for the reception of screw spikes 34 which enterties l3. The holes 3 are formed by punching so that the cubical amountof metal in the hole diameter is not all removed from the plate but alarge part is shifted to a position around the hole to increase thethickness of the plate, on the under side. This forms a shallow boss 4which imbeds itself into the tie and then cooperates with the screwspikes in holding the plate from side slipping on the tie.

Each plate has two openings 5 punched through it. These openings leadinto hexagonal recesses 6 formed beneath upwardly projecting bosses. Theexterior faces 8 of these bosses may be varied as desired so as toaccommodate different shaped recesses 20 formed on the under side of theclamping clips 26, 21, 28 and 29. The bosses may be shaped square as atIT; hexagonal as at [8 and half-circle at 19 and the recesses 20 will becorrespondingly shaped. Other shapes may be used as desired, but theabutment I of each boss is primarily formed on the upper face of theplate by forcing the metal upward in shaping the recess for the bolthead so as to not structurally weaken the plate.

The rail base 15 is positioned singly between a pair of straightabutments 23 without any lost motion whatever and the clips are held innonslipping engagement with the rail flanges [5 by means of sharp Vshaped teeth 24 formed on the under side of the clip flange at thetermination of each abutment 23. These teeth engage the rail mosteifectively so that rail creep is avoided. The long straight faces orabutments 23 are in contact with the rail through their length. Thisstraight face and the teeth insures a positive and definite hold on therail which cannot be secured by any form of curved surface which Thismeans at best can only form a narrow line-contact.

The straight abutments 23 are formed on multiple faces of the differentstyles of clips but they are always in pairs and in parallel alignmentwith each other regardless of the number of faces on the clips, such astwo in clip 26, four in clip 21, six in clip 28 and eight in clip 29.The abutments -23 are at different distances from the center of the clipbolt holes 25 forming the widest under-flange faces 2| and the narrowestones 22. Between these two extremes others of graded dimensions areformed when clips of more than two clamping faces are used. 7

The clips whether of one or the other forms instanced in the drawingsare all similarly held in engagement with the rail flanges by means ofclamping bolts 30 which have hexagonal heads 3| whose faces areflattened at 32. The purpose of this flattening is to permit theassembling of the bolts and clips without loosening the tie plate I fromthe tie 13. A bolt is first dropped through the opening 5 with the head3| extending downward into the recess I2 formed in the tie 13. It isthen moved sidewise through the slot 9 formed in theboss when it isturned on its axis as shown in Fig. 15 and is drawn into the hexagonalrecess 6 as the nut 33 above a split washer is threaded toward a clippositioned in place on the rail flange. The hexagonal recess 6 and thehead 3| coact to prevent the bolt 30 twisting as the nut 33 istightened.v

Without a raised support having an abutting ledge for the clip on theside opposite that in engagement with the rail flange the clip could notbe held immovably against the rail, the sidewise engagement could not bemade permanent.

ciple of the cantilever. This is accomplished by stamping a raisedsupport 10 adjacent each opening 5 and forming a ledge II on which theflange 35 of the clip is seated. The ledge I I is about on the sameplane as the top edge of the rail flange and it is the cooperation ofthe straight vertical wall of the ledge II with the clip flange 35 andthe simultaneous cooperation of the abutment 23 against the edge of therail base that produces our new result, a result-notattained heretofore.a y

We are aware that clips of one form or another have been-proposed tohold railway rails onto tie plates prior to our invention, but nofastening and clamping means of the'cantilever type have been used inwhich, the clamping clips are supported at two edges on 'opposit'e'sidesof. the fastening bolt. By forming the clamping clips with a centralbolt hole 25 and positioning the abutting edges or shoulders 23different distances from the center, we are able to adapt the clips toall practical variations of rail width bases. The adjustment can be madeby very small amounts, as small as 3 2' inch or less if the'hexagon oroctagonal clips are shaped accordingly. Whatever the adjustment that maybe required to align a rail or to bring a'pair of rails into gauge itcan be done expeditiously.

Yet other attempts have been made to simply effectively and economicallyproduce serviceable tie plates with little success. The best We overcomethese difiiculties by employing the prinof these efforts require the useof expensive production machinery and costly material with no adequatesidewise support of the rails. Several devices depend entirely on thebolts alone to receive the side strains of heavy trafilc.

What we claim is:

1. A tie plate comprising oppositely positioned raised abutments,sloping ledges on the abutments, said plate having openings formedadjacent the abutments and recesses on the under side of the plateleading into said openings, a raised multifaced boss formed above eachrecess through the raising of the upper surface of the plate by themetal displaced in forming the recesses, said bosses having slotsleading into the openings, fastening bolts projecting through and abovethe slots, said bolts having heads at their lower ends retainedagainstturning in the recesses, and multifaced clamping means assembled on thebolts, said means engaging the bosses, abutments and the base flanges ofa railway rail to positively maintain said rail in different lateralpositions on said plate depending upon the angular position of saidclamping means on said bosses.

2. A self-contained rail support constituting a tie plate, comprising arelatively fiat plate having recesses on its under side and openingstherethrough communicating with the recesses, a rail positioned on theplate between the openings, a pair of bosses on the upper face of theplate adjacent each opening one of said bosses having a multifacedexterior and a slot extending into the opening, upwardly facing anddownward sloping beveled ledges on the bosses positioned on the outerside of the openings, clamping means comprising multifaced clips havingunderneath recesses conforming to the multifaced bosses and also havingbeveled under faced rims adapted to simultaneously engage the multifacedbosses and the beveled ledges of the bosses and the flange of the railbase, said clips being adapted to be positioned in different angularpositions on the bosses to laterally position the rail, and means forholding the tie plate the clips and the rail in assembled relation.

3. A rail support comprising a plate adapted to rest on a tie havingopenings therethrough to receive spikes for securing it on the tie, saidplate having openings through it in spaced apart relation to receive arail on the plate between such openings, a rail, a recess on theunderside of the plate leading to each adjacent opening, an upstandingboss on the upper surface of the plate above each recess said bosseshaving axial slots connected with the openings and the recesses, raisedabutments positioned between the openings and the adjacent edges of theplate, inclined ledges on the abutments facing the bosses, multifacedclips having underneath recesses that conform to the perimeter of thebosses, beveled rim projections of the clips adapted to simultaneouslyengage the incline-d ledges of the abutments and the base flanges of therail, said clips being adapted to be located in different angularpositions on the bosses to laterally position the rail, and means forholding the clips against displacement to securely retain the rail onthe tie plate.

4. A tie plate supported on a tie, comprising a pair of recesses andadjacent openings formed on the under side of the plate adapted toreceive the heads of upstanding bolts, multifaced bosses formed abovethe recesses, said bosses having axial slots leading into the recessesand adjacent openings, a rail positioned in spaced apart relationbetween the multifaced bosses, abutments formed on the plate adjacentthe bosses, beveled ledges on the abutments, the bosses and abutmentsbeing separated by openings formed in the plate, recessed clamping meansassembled on the multifaced bosses and on the bolts said means engagingthe abutments and the rail base at the same time said means beingadapted to prevent vertical and sidewise movement of the rail, saidclamping means being adapted to be positioned in different angularpositions on the bosses to laterally position the rail whereby thefastening bolts for the clamping means are adapted to be attached to orremoved therefrom without loosening the plate from the tie.

5. A combined tie plate and rail abutment including a relatively fiatplate, angularly shaped bosses pressed up from the under side of theplate, said bosses being positioned on opposite sides of the rail,holding clips having angularly shaped recesses on their under sideadapted to engage the similarly shaped bosses to thereby prevent theclips having rotation on the bosses without an entire removal therefrom,said clips being adapted to be positioned in different angular positionson the bosses to laterally position the rail, retaining rims on theclips, toothed projections on the under side of the clip rim to closelygrip the rail flanges, and means for holding the clips in engagementwith the rail.

6. A perforate rail holding clip, a multi-faced rim edge on the clip, asimilarly faced recess on the under side of the clip the faces of therecess being at the same radial dimension from the center of the hole,faces of the clip edge formed at different distances from the center ofthe hole, a tie plate, angularly shaped bosses on the plate, raisedabutments adjacent the bosses, and overhanging beveled rims above eachfaced edge of the clips, whereby a pair of clips when assembled on theangularly shaped bosses similar to the recesses on the under side of theclips will hold a rail between a pair of such bosses as a portion of thebeveled overhanging rims rest on the base flanges of the rail andanother portion of the beveled rims rest on adjacent upwardly facedbeveled abutments thus the parts are held assembled against any possiblechange of the clips on the bosses by the vibrations of passing trainsthrough the cooperation of bolts which hold the clips on the plateagainst the rail base and the abutments said clips serving as clampingmeans adapted to be positioned in different angular positions on thebosses to laterally position the rail.

7. An article of manufacture which comprises a rail support formed froma flat plate of approximately uniform thickness in which angularlyshaped bosses and separate abutments are pressed up from the bottom,said plates having an opening formed between each boss and an abutmentand a slot of less width than the opening extending from the openinginto and throughout the length of the boss, the pressed-up metal formingthe bosses producing a recess thereunder and an indentation beneath theabutments whereby the structural strength of the plate will bemaintained substantially constant.

FRANK J. WERNER. GILBERT H. WERNER.

